Flair GO: Portable, Collapsible Lever Espresso Machine with Pod Brewing (Pods Model)

This has been my best travel and camping espresso option found so far.

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Anyone who has shown interest in making espresso at home has no doubt heard of Flair as one of the many brands associated with manual espresso machines. Their newest product iterate on their popular line of manual lever espresso machines by making an ultra-portable machine capable of brewing authentic espresso with the same pressure found in commercial machines.You get the whole kit in a nice carrying case which comes with custom molded inserts for storing every component easily. The machine itself consist of the frame as well as the brew head, consisting of a removeable brew funnel, the brew head and basket, a water chamber, and the piston with pressure gauge. The components all come together and stay together using a variety of o-rings fitted along the pieces and this in conjunction with the fine espresso grind forms a seal that can be pushed down with the lever.With the appropriate grind and dose, you can push down with consistent pressure, maintaining 6-9 bars of pressure, to brew authentic espresso, yielding a shot from about fifteen grams of coffee. The espresso will have a rich crema with a full bodied flavor and an appealing flavor that coats the mouth and lasts for minutes.Afterwards, you can easily clean the machine by taking apart the brew mechanism and disposing of the used grounds. Rinse and scrub in water, avoiding soap when you can to prevent off tastes.Overall, I was super impressed with the sort of quality you can achieve even without a machine. Although it does take more work, the ultra-portable design is appealing for the most discerning coffee enthusiast looking to get quality coffee wherever they can. At only 200, it offers a competitive value compared to cheaper semi-automatic machines which can fail to achieve the same sort of pressure good old elbow grease can get you.

Overall, it is nice. It is small and functions well and pulls a good shot. The reason for 3 stars is regarding what the advertising does not say.For instance, the stainless steel filter has been redesigned. It no longer sits on the lip and is a thing piece of metal you drop on top of the grounds. This can be hard to remove afterwards. They call it an upgrade but its more a cost reduction so the upgrade is really for their coffers. The old model was easy to retrieve and clean after a pull since it never came into contact with the grounds. This version you have to poke it with a spoon to get it upright to pull out or dump it out with the grounds. Either way, the filter is covered and the fine, espresso grounds will get caught up in the mesh, making cleaning a pain.To get to the bottomless filter mode, you have to remove the spout. The model I got, the spout was wedged in tight. I had to get a metal spoon and pry it out, gouging the surrounding plastic a little.The instructions and video are terrible. The video "instructions" are basically just another ad. You do not see any instruction whatsoever. It just shows one side angle and a person pouring in grounds, then water, then depressing the lever. If you want detailed instructions with weights and measures and techniques on how the thing works, you have to find a video from a third party reviewer to walk you through.Finally, I had to email the company directly for the tolerance for this device for grounds fine-ess. A lot of cheaper and off the shelf burr grinders will get you around 300 microns at the fine-ess setting. This will NOT work with the Flair Go. Don't even waste your money getting this. After the email to the company, I learned that this will NOT work unless you have a burr grinder can get you between 100-250 microns.For 200 USD, I expected more. Better documentation and instructions, better quality, and a device that could work with a common portable grinder without requiring buying an expensive grinder to accompany it. For something that is supposed to be on the go, it seems to require a kitchen with running water to clean it and a fancy grinder to even function.

absolutely love this folding portable espresso machine. I got the version for grounds and not pods. Build quality feels really good. While it's foldable, it feels very solid and well made. I've been using 18 g of coffee in the portafilter, and I need to grind a lot coarser than what I do for my automatic espresso machine. The puck depth is much deeper in this portable machine, which provides a bit more tolerance for less ideal puck prep. I love that it comes with a pressure gauge to help ensure shots are pulled at the correct pressure. You will need a good grinder and a source of almost boiling hot water to use this espresso machine. I can't wait to take it with me on trips to make espresso. For the quality of the machine, I think it is a good value for portability.

This espresso gadget is awesome! My husband and I are big coffee lovers, so I ordered this portable espresso unit to take along with us on our camping trips. It comes in a really nice case to store it in, and its small and compact since its Collapsible and can be folded. Its lightweight and easy to pack, fits in our backpacks no problem. I chose to get the pods model and we love how easy it is to use. Assemble the machine, add your pod to the portafilter, we use the original Nepresso pods, and add water, thats it. Its a super quick process, you have fresh tasting espresso in no time. We love the simplicity of it and that we can have fresh espresso anytime we want. Its really well made, very solid and durable, definitely built to last for years to come. We love it so much, we plan on buying the grounds model next to try that out as well. Very satisfied and would recommend it for the outdoors people.